Reconciliation Prayer

Pray for perfect peace, love and the holy apostolic greetings

• Perfect Peace = divine peace - "the peace of God which surpasses all understanding" - the deacon should raise the cross because it is through this cross that we have peace and are reconciled. Hold it with strength because the deacon will be saved by the zeal of his service.
  • "Saved amen. And with your spirit..." - Deacon should go and stand and hold the cross with strength to declare the power of salvation through the cross 
  • What is peace? Who is peace? The Lord Jesus Christ
    • "He is our Peace who made the two into one"
  • "And make us worthy of the heavenly peace which befits Your divinity and is full of salvation, that we give the same to one another in perfect love and greet one another with a holy kiss" - Reconciliation St Cyril
  • Didache - it is the responsibility of the people in the church in order not to allow any person who is not reconciled with one another to stand and approach the Communion because a person not reconciled will defile the peace of the rest of the congregation
    • There is a difference between the rebellious sinner and the repentant sinner. The above refers to the rebellious
• Love

The Triangle Corporal which was before the seal on the tomb is raised by the priest

• The seal on the tomb is removed which means the Resurrection will be revealed (the Lord rose while the tomb and seal were there... so removing the seal is not preparing the Resurrection, but preparing for the revelation of the Resurrection)
• Symbolizes the veil that was between us and God. That's why the deacon stands on the opposite side, holding the cross - to say that through the Cross, the veil is torn
• Contemplations:
  • Same corporal that Abouna uses while he's choosing the Lamb.
  • He puts it in his sleeve - when they used to offer sacrifices the priest used to put the knife in his sleeve and by it, he slaughtered the lamb. This corporal represents the knife by which the Lamb will be slaughtered.
  • Then that same corporal wraps the oblation and so it symbolizes our sins that the Lord took upon Himself and carried on the Cross (which is why Abouna will put the cross in front of it in Glory and Honor)
  • After the procession of the lamb, that corporal goes on top of the Prospherine representing the seal (death of Christ)
  • Then the corporal is held up at end of Reconciliation prayer and represents the veil
  • During Agios, that corporal goes from left to right and then West to East and ends on top of the Chalice, as if the corporal that represents sin, death, curse and punishment ends on the blood of Christ because through the Blood of Christ, our sin, death, curse and punishment was removed.
• When God grants us His divine love, THEN we can love one another with the same love. The Reconciliation Prayer describes the Reconciliation between God and Man and THEN through this reconciliation, extends to us. "Glory to God in the Highest" and THEN "peace on earth and goodwill toward men"
• Holy Apostolic Greeting
  • Without Lust
  • Without Hypocrisy
  • "Not with a vile sense that defies Your fear, nor with thoughts of guile filled with the wickedness of the traitor, for our conscience is not bent on evil. Rather, we greet one another by the eagerness of our souls and the 
  • Tradition says that the Holy kiss was by the mouth (which is why only men greet men and women greet women) - tradition taken from the Jews
    • That's why St Cyril says "not with a vile sense" (lustful heart)
    • nor with thoughts of guile (like the kiss of Judas) - betrayal or hypocrisy

Greet one another with the holy kiss

• Three responses:
  • Greet one another with the holy kiss
    
  • Yes Lord, who are Jesus Christ the Son of God hear us and have mercy upon us
  • Offer Offer Offer in order stand with trembling...
• In most other liturgies like Lakkan and Consecration of Myron, the response starts with "Offer, Offer, Offer..." (the third part)
• Look toward the East means all of us, all the time, whether in the Church or outside the Church, we are fixing our eyes towards God who is our East
  • Paradise (Garden of Eden) was in the East
  • Parousia (Second Coming) will be from the East
  • If it meant to physically look toward the East, why would the deacon repeat the commandment in the Anaphora
  • It is not right for the deacons to look toward each other, but should be looking toward the East
• The Holy Kiss is an essential part of the Liturgy (and all Churches since the beginning have the holy kiss as an essential part)
  • It used to be that when a bishop got ordained, all of the clergy and the laity would come and give him the holy kiss
  • And then everyone baptized later (i.e. catechumens) would receive it from the Bishop first
  • So catechumens were not allowed to participate in the holy kiss because they are not members yet of the Body of Christ and did not receive the Holy Spirit
  • St Paul mentioned "Greet one another with a holy kiss" several times in his letters
  • Didascalia - Bishop every Monday should have a council with people in conflict and try to reconcile them so they have enough time to reconcile before Sunday. If they insist on not reconciling, don't call them brethren (they are not in the Body of Christ)
  • "Let no one keep any blemish between him and his brother; no hypocrisy, no judges" - an addendum to the response in some euchologions
  • Didascalia - If there are grudges between you and your brother, your prayer will not be heard before God; your thanksgiving will not be accepted before God
  • Holy Kiss used to be before the Offering of the Lamb
  • During the Holy Kiss is the hymn of the Aspasmos (which means greeting) -
    • the Church is encouraging us to have a spirit of oneness and unity in the Liturgy - "He made us unto Himself an assembled people";
    • Someone may say "the church is crowded I can't pray" and then goes and stands in the sanctuary to pray alone. Some people see it as spiritual but it lacks the theological understanding of the Holy Kiss and that we are an "assembled people"
  • The priest does not remove the Prospherine until "Offer Offer Offer" (AFTER the people have greeted one another)
  • Pope Gabriel V - After they greet one another, now they are reconciled with the heavenly so they can have the praises of the Seraphim and can chant in the Anaphora "holy holy holy Lord of Sabaoth, heaven and earth are full of Your holy glory"
  • "You have given to us the praise of the Seraphim" - Liturgy of St Gregory - how do we get this praise of the Seraphim? We have to be reconciled with one another and with the heavenly
• Order
  • "Greet one another with the holy kiss"
  • Aspasmos is chanted (hymn of greeting) - "O Christ our Savior, make us worthy for Your holy and heavenly peace in order to praise you with the Cherubim and the Seraphim saying holy holy holy O Lord the Pantocrator; heaven and earth are full of Your glory and honor. Through the intercessions of St Mary the Mother of God, O Lord grant us the forgiveness of our sins"
    • Because the first part is omitted, many may ask "what does through the intercessions have anything to do with the Reconciliation Prayer?"
    • There is another one that says "Greet one another with a holy kiss and purify your hearts from all evil. Be ready for the gift of God that you may partake of these mysteries. Through these, we may win mercy and forgiveness of our sins according to His great mercy."
  • "Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Lord have mercy. Yes Lord who are Jesus Christ the son of God hear us and have mercy upon us."
  • "We worship You O Christ, with Your good Father, and the Holy Spirit for you have come and saved us."
  • "Offer in order"
    • Because we cannot offer except after we reconcile
  • "A mercy of peace a sacrifice of praise"
• This ritual explains to us how we enter into heaven
  • The prospherine is shaken three times so the bells make noise which is the sound of the Resurrection